


Katsu Love

by Adagal



Series: Between the Phases [1]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Pets, Wholesome, between phases 3 and 4 again, buying a pet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-19 14:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19358515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adagal/pseuds/Adagal
Summary: It's Noodle's birthday, and the gang are celebrating for the first time since they've been reunited. They allow Noodle to pick whatever she wants, so she picks having a cat. Will the cat be nice, or a gremlin?





	1. Chapter 1

_"Noodle, wake up..."_

_"Noodle...."_

"Alright, alright, gimme a sec," Noodle moaned. She pushed up the covers and stumbled out of bed. 

She checked the time. Midnight. Who would wake someone up from a perfectly good sleep at midnight? She didn't have time to answer however, because whoever was calling her was getting antsy. 

Noodle didn't bother changing out of her pajamas, which consisted of grey shorts and a purple shirt that read, "Wake me up when it's noon". Instead, she slipped a few barettes in her hair and looked in her mirror. She traced a finger under her right eye, where a light purple mark still lay. A reminder of the trouble she went through to reunite with her friends on Plastic Beach. 

"Noodle! Come up please!" 

"I said gimme a second!" Noodle shouted. In a huff, she stomped up the stairs. 

"Where are you?" Noodle asked into the darkness. 

No answer, except for a creaky door. She would have to take it by guessing. 

Noodle stepped into 2D's room. "Anyone here?" No answer. 

She went to 2D's bed and felt around the covers for a humanoid lump. Nothing. 

"2D? Murdoc? Russel? Where are you guys?" Noodle called out. She was starting to get worried now. This didn't feel like a dream. Was this a joke? It wasn't a very funny one.

Despite 2D's room being at the top floor, there was still one more place she could go up to. They had to be up there.

Noodle headed back to the bottom of the staircase the led up to 2D's room. She felt around for a door. When she found it, she opened it and took a secret set of stairs that led all the way up to the roof. Once she opened the trap door and climbed up, she instantly felt a cold rush of air. Yep, she was outside. 

"Guys? You up here?" Noodle whispered. 

After a few seconds, she could see a few small flames not too far from where she stood, as well as three figures. One large, two skinny. In the glow of the light, she could just make out the faces of 2D, Russel, and Murdoc. Murdoc seemed to be the one in the middle, holding a bundt cake with Russel and 2D on either side of him.

_Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Noodle~ Happy birthday to you~_

Noodle could feel tears rushing into her eyes as the guys walked up to her. Murdoc set the bundt cake down on the ground. 

"Go on and make a wish, love."

Kneeling down, Noodle felt a tear escape as she blew out the three candles on the cake. The others clapped. 

"It's cinnamon bun flavored," 2D said. "Because we knew it was your favorite pastry." 

Noodle licked her lips in response. "Thank you guys so much." 

Russel took out a knife and a few napkins, forks, and paper plates. "I thought we could have a little birthday picnic up here." 

\------------------------------------------ 

After about half an hour passed, everyone was already through with their second slice. 

"Hey Noodle, what would you want for a present?" Russel asked, swallowing a bite of cake. "If it could be anything." 

Noodle sat in silence for a bit, thinking over her options. Finally, she looked up and said, "A cat." 

"Hmm, sounds nice," 2D hummed, peeling the frosting away from his plate. "I think I had a cat once..."

Before 2D had a chance to ramble, Russel butted in. "You sure Noodle? It'd be tough to take care of." 

"I know, but so's a kid, yet you guys managed to take care of me! I'll make sure it gets taken care of!" Noodle chuckled. 

Russel looked taken aback by Noodle's statement, but at the same time, she was right. As hard as it was, somehow the guys had been able to take care of Noodle back when she was still a young child. 

"Anything specific?" Murdoc asked, scraping the frosting remains off his plate. 

"No, just a cat, any kind would do. Maybe short-haired though?" Noodle took one last bite of her cake, then pushed her empty plate away. It was around that time the the others were done with their slices as well. Noodle collected all the trash, then everyone went back down into the house to put everything away. 

"Tell ya what, Noodle," Russel said, "I'll take ya to the animal shelter later today, and we can find a cat to adopt." 

Noodle grinned. 2D rushed up to Noodle's side, eyes wide as saucers. "Ooo, ooo, could I come too?" 

"Sure!" Noodle cheered. 

Russel checked his watch. "Well, the shelter doesn't open for quite a while, obviously. How about we rest a little longer, then we can go." 

2D and Noodle wore ear-to-ear grins. They didn't last for long, as Noodle let out a big yawn. 2D soon followed, stumbling back up to his room. Noodle, Murdoc, and Russel went down to their rooms as well.

When she got to her room, looked around and found a large mound of clothes near her closet. Walking over to it and flattening out the mound, she shaped it to look similar to that of a cat's bed. She the stepped back, stared at her pile, and grinned. She was going to enjoy the shelter that morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noodle, 2D, and Russel head to the animal shelter to find a cat. Which one will Noodle choose?

The next morning, Noodle, 2D, and Russel piled in the car, with Russel at the wheel. Murdoc almost threw a hissy fit until Russel agreed Murdoc didn't have to go with them and "hold down the fort", despite Noodle's pestering that Murdoc should go with them as well. 

2D stared out the window, trying to find the shelter in his field of vision. Before long, he could see it coming up ahead. He bounced in his seat like a little kid at the sight. 

Noodle sat next to 2D, gazing out her own window, excited to create a bunch of new memories with her new cat. 

"We're here," Russel finally announced, pulling into the carpark.

Noodle and 2D leaped out of the car and walked inside. The smell of pet food was heavy in the air as the door jingled on their way in. 

"Hello there!" a lady nearby said. "You here looking to adopt, or just browsing?" 

"We're actually looking to adopt!" Noodle smiled widely.

The lady nodded, definitely happy someone came to adopt, and motioned for them to follow her into the next room.

Walking into the next room, there was a bunch of noise coming from all the dogs. 2D knelt down in front of one of the dogs and waved hello. 

"Were you guys looking to adopt a dog or cat?" the lady asked. 

As though on cue, 2D sneezed incredibly loudly. Despite how much he loved them, he was slightly allergic to dogs. 

"We were looking for a cat. Preferably short-haired," Noodle explained. The lady nodded and motioned toward the next room, where all the cats were.

"Here's the cats. Let me know if you find anyone you enjoy," the lady said. 2D instantly ran off to one of the cats. 

Noodle chuckled a little at the sight of a 30-something year old man playing with a cat like a little kid. But that was 2D for ya. He could be 60 and still never get old of playgrounds. Then again, she herself was 23 now and still enjoyed playing with her tamagotchi whenever she could. 

Noodle walked past a few of the cats, trying to find one that would suit her. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a tabby cat that was grooming itself. When it succeeded to lick its paw, it turned to Noodle. Its dark green eyes seemed to stare up at her, so she stared right back. 

"Hey Noodle, ya find something?" Russel came up behind the girl staring at one of the cats, her eyes bugged out. 

"You like him?" the lady asked Noodle. "You can have him if you want." 

Noodle stared at the cat a little more, than whipped her head around to look at the lady and Russel. "I'd like him please." 

At the register desk, the cat was put in a kennel and a few papers were set beside it. 

"You'll just need to fill this out, then you're good to go," the lady said. 

Russel got handed the papers, then passed them to Noodle, who filled them out happily. When it came to the part where she had to give the cat a name, she thought about it, then wrote down "Katsu". When she was done, she handed the papers to the lady at the desk. 

"Katsu, huh? It's a nice name." The lady smiled as she looked over the rest of the papers, then put them in a file. "You are good to go. Have nice day guys!"

The whole way back, 2D had been talking to Katsu in a baby voice. Noodle kept watching the singer do so and smiled. It was kinda funny to see. But Katsu seemed to be listening to 2D's every word, so maybe 2D was some sort of cat whisperer? Kinda unlikely, but neat to think about. 

"Let's stop at the pet store first to pick up some stuff for Katsu," Russel suggested. Noodle and 2D both agreed. 

"Ya hear that?" 2D said to Katsu, still using his baby voice. "We're gonna get you some nice things for your new home." Katsu mewed.

At the pet store, the gang picked out a food and water bowl, a few cat toys, some kitty litter, some cat food, and a dark blue bed, all for Katsu. Noodle made sure everything would fit to Katsu's liking, and when they were done, she piled it all into the car's trunk. 

Once they arrived home, Noodle took Katsu out of his kennel and brought him in the house, which left 2D and Russel to carry everything else into the house. 

"Hey Murdoc, there's someone I want you to meet!" Noodle called. 

In a few seconds, Noodle could hear Murdoc's clumsy footsteps as he came down the stairs. 

"Alright, who's this mysterious person you want me to meet?" he moaned. 

Noodle pulled out Katsu and held him in front of Murdoc. "Meet Katsu! We just adopted him this morning!" 

Murdoc looked uneasy to say the least. He stared deep into the cat for what seemed like forever. After a minute, he shrugged, said, "Alright then," then left to go back upstairs, practically running. 

Katsu's head darted around his new home. It looked messy, but somewhat clean at the same time. Perfect. 

Noodle ran upstairs, Katsu swaying in her arms. Russel and 2D set the litter, kennel, food and bowls down on the kitchen table, then 2D ran up the stairs to deliver the bed and cat toys. 

Once he arrived at Noodle's room, he entered and set down the bed near Noodle's bed, and gave the toys to the smiling girl. Noodle thanked 2D, then went back to playing with her new cat, now dangling a feathery toy in front of him. All in all, Katsu was the best present ever.


	3. Murdoc's Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murdoc needs to take care of Katsu when the others are out at an interview. Can he do it and not kill the cat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I guess this is an epilogue of sorts? We already know what Noodle, 2D, and Russel think of Katsu, so I just came up with a quick one-off to show Murdoc's feelings. Nonetheless, enjoy ^^'
> 
> Oh, and happy bday The Now Now!

"You remember when to feed him, right?" 

"Yep." 

"And you'll make sure he doesn't take a dump anywhere but the kennel?" 

"Yep." 

"Great. Then we're off. See ya in a bit!" 

Noodle slammed the door behind her, leaving Murdoc alone at the house. The others were off to an interview without him, the interviewers only wanted Noodle, 2D, and Russel. His time would come soon, they said.

But he had a time now, despite what the interviewers might've said. However, that time was actually him having to take care of Katsu. 

Murdoc headed up the steps into Noodle's room. When he opened her door, he found Katsu sitting peacefully on Noodle's bed. He shook a little as he waved hello to the cat. Katsu seemed to take notice and stared at the bass player. And Murdoc stared right back. 

Katsu then jumped off the bed and trotted toward Murdoc.

"Oh FFFFFFFFFF!" Murdoc yelled, backing away from the quickly approaching cat.

Katsu meowed and rubbed up against Murdoc's leg. Murdoc shivered at the feel, then ran downstairs.

At the point it became Katsu's feeding time, Murdoc ran into the kitchen where Katsu's food and drink bowls sat, and grabbed the bag of cat food, slowly pouring it into the food bowl. 

"Come on now cat, you need your eating," Murdoc mumbled under his breath. 

Suddenly, Murdoc heard a bell jingle as Katsu came around the corner. In shaky breaths, Murdoc put the bag away and slowly backed out of the kitchen.

"There you go, cat. Now I can sit in peace," Murdoc whispered to himself. 

Now content with the fact Katsu is eating where he won't be, Murdoc headed to the living room and sat down on the couch. He was already done broadcasting his radio show for the week, so all he wanted to do now was just fiddle around with his bass.

Reaching across the couch, he picked up El Diablo, his personal favorite. He tuned it up a little, then set it down and played a game with himself that he used to play while on Plastic Beach. He had to turn on his phone and set a huge Gorillaz playlist on shuffle. Whatever song it went to, he'd need to play the bass line to for the whole song. 

The first song his phone played was Starshine. Low-key, it was one of Murdoc's favorites, so he didn't mind that one. Halfway through the song however, he felt something next to him on the couch scuttle along, it was so light he didn't pay it much mind. 

_It's probably a spider. It's fine._ he thought to himself. 

He paused the song and looked over out of boredom to find Katsu on the couch head, above him. 

Murdoc almost yelled. Katsu just meowed and rubbed himself against Murdoc's head, his tail whapping against the bassist's cheek on occasion. And for the first time, Murdoc noticed how soft Katsu was. Noodle really was taking good care of the cat. 

Shuddering, Murdoc reached up to pet Katsu. "I thought you were eating. You weren't that hungry, eh?" Katsu stopped rubbing against Murdoc's head, and instead went for the hand that was reaching up to pet him, purring as he did so. 

The purring shocked Murdoc a little, but at the same time, he was alright with it.

"Heh, you aren't so bad after all, cat," he said. "You aren't like the other cats that I've grown to hate and set fire to over the years. And ya know why? You're soft, you're friendly, you really do seem to warm up to others. But I guess that's why Noodle chose you, eh?" 

Katsu responded with jumping off the couch head and placing himself right on Murdoc's lap. Murdoc looked down and smiled nervously as Katsu started purring again.

"Ya know," Murdoc said, "my dad always told me cats, big or small, would one day try to harm me. Said they always harmed my mom, so she never wanted to see any cats near her family. He always said I should respect her wishes, but, ya know, he was a dirty liar as usual. Despite all that though, it gave me an intense fear of cats for the longest time, and that's why I did what I did, yeah? That probably made no sense, but you get what I mean, right Katsu?" 

Katsu responded with purring and nuzzling his head against Murdoc's stomach. The bassist reached his hand down and petted the purring creature, then moved on to another song. This time it was Broken. Murdoc got a flood of memories from making the song, as well as the whole Plastic Beach album, but nonetheless, it was one of the few songs he enjoyed making even despite the hard times he was going through at the time. 

Strumming the bass line, Murdoc looked down at his lap occasionally and noticed Katsu was enjoying the music as well. Halfway through the song however, Katsu jumped off the bassist's lap and left. Murdoc watched as the cat strutted away, then shrugged and went back to playing a few more songs. Eventually, however, Murdoc got bored and switched on the TV instead. In a few minutes, he fell sound asleep, not even bothering to set his bass aside. 

"Murdoc? Murdoc? We're home. The interview went well. Murdoc?" Murdoc could just make out Noodle's voice as she came up the stairs. 

"Murdoc? Is Katsu ok?" Noodle looked around the kitchen for any sign of life. Nothing. So she took the next course of action as 2D and Russel came, and she headed upstairs. 

When Noodle arrived to the living room, she saw Murdoc on the couch, and Katsu resting on Murdoc's head. She giggled a little to herself. 

_Does he know? Nah, and it'd prolly be best not to tell either. Let Katsu have his fun._ Noodle thought. She walked up to the sleeping bassist and planted a kiss on Katsu's head. She then did the same to Murdoc's head and left, leaving the bassist asleep, and the cat smiling.


End file.
